Tom Hendrix began constructing a stone wall decades ago on his property 15 miles north of Florence, Alabama. His intention was to build a monument to his great great grandmother, a member of the Yuchi Indian Tribe, who was sent on the Trail of Tears. Once she arrived in Oklahoma, she escaped, and walked back all by herself to her home waters on the Tennessee River in Alabama. It took her five years, and she is the only person known to have done it. Her amazing story was passed on to Tom through his grandmother, and inspired his colossal undertaking, a winding rock wall that rivals any environmental project done by a single person.Little known to most Alabamians, Tom Hendrix’s wall is known to people all over the world, especially in the spiritual community. The heartbreaking and uplifting nature of its inspiration, and the knowledge that one man dedicated himself to such an enormous task, offers a powerful, indescribable experience when visiting the wall. People of many faiths and nat…

The Sipsey Wilderness area is one of only two designated wilderness areas in the state of Alabama, and is the third largest East of the Mississippi River. Its topography is formed by the Warrior Mountains, the western terminus of the Appalachians. Numerous streams have eroded this part of the Cumberland Plateau forming lush canyons and wooded ridges. There are over 400 miles of canyons in this small area. Rocky bluffs from 50 to 200 feet in height drop away from the ridges. Some of the coves are so rugged that they have never been logged and are home to virgin and old growth trees. Sometimes called “land of a thousand waterfalls,” Sipsey hosts large cascades from 35 to 70 feet as well as hundreds of smaller ones.As evidenced in my piece, my every visit to Sipsey has been in the fall (with no complaints from me.) I included imagery of many of the trees and plant-life, all drawn from brilliantly colored photos of my hikes. The two trees that stood out to me as being unusually prevalent …